Dietitians for Professional Integrityhttps://integritydietitians.org
Sun, 10 Sep 2017 06:28:10 +0000en-UShourly1https://i1.wp.com/integritydietitians.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/logo.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1Dietitians for Professional Integrityhttps://integritydietitians.org
3232114989328Panera Helps Its Customers Keep Track of Their Sugar Intakehttps://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/23/panera-helps-customers-keep-track-sugar-intake/
https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/23/panera-helps-customers-keep-track-sugar-intake/#respondThu, 24 Aug 2017 06:27:14 +0000https://integritydietitians.org/?p=1903Why not? “Panera Bread has unveiled a new 20-ounce plastic cup that lists the amount of sugar and calories in fountain drinks.” Even if this decision was partially driven by a marketing strategy to promote Panera’s new craft beverages, it can’t hurt. Highlights: * “Panera’s so-called “sweet facts cup” debuts in New York, Los Angeles,Read More

]]>Why not? “Panera Bread has unveiled a new 20-ounce plastic cup that lists the amount of sugar and calories in fountain drinks.”

Even if this decision was partially driven by a marketing strategy to promote Panera’s new craft beverages, it can’t hurt.

Highlights:

* “Panera’s so-called “sweet facts cup” debuts in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C.; Chicago, Charlotte, Dallas, Atlanta and St. Louis this week and then rolls out across the country in September, according to Sara Burnett, Panera’s director of wellness and food policy.”

* “Customers are handed the empty cup after they pay for their order. Then they head to the fountain dispenser for their drinks, whether it’s a regular cola (250 calories, 17.25 teaspoons of added sugar) or a Blood Orange Lemonade (160, 8.25) or a Plum Ginger Hibiscus Tea (0, 0).”

It’s certainly welcome in an era where most food and beverage industry players are pursuing regulation delays and finding any possible excuse to not share this information with the public.

]]>https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/23/panera-helps-customers-keep-track-sugar-intake/feed/01903The Industry Playbook of Manufactured Doubthttps://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/21/industry-playbook-manufactured-doubt/
https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/21/industry-playbook-manufactured-doubt/#respondTue, 22 Aug 2017 06:23:23 +0000https://integritydietitians.org/?p=1901“If you are working to improve public health and the environment in Africa, you need to know what your opponents are up to,” University of Melbourne public health professor Rob Moodie writes in The Conversation. We couldn’t agree more! Highlights: * “Attack legitimate science. Attack the scientific institutions and government agencies perceived to be actingRead More

]]>“If you are working to improve public health and the environment in Africa, you need to know what your opponents are up to,” University of Melbourne public health professor Rob Moodie writes in The Conversation.

We couldn’t agree more!

Highlights:

* “Attack legitimate science. Attack the scientific institutions and government agencies perceived to be acting against corporate interests. Withholding any data unfavourable to the corporate product. Use corporate-funded studies.”

* “Attack and intimidate scientists. Smear the enemy – for example, by calling environmentalists “watermelons” (green on the outside and red on the inside). Create enough doubt to forestall litigation and regulation. Use pejorative terms repeatedly such as “excessive” regulation, “over” regulation, “unnecessary” regulation, “nanny state,” and “health Nazis” to promote fear and disdain.”

* “Manufacture false debate and insist on balance. Create false dichotomies. Focus on corporate social responsibility. Focus on other issues as the problem, like physical activity instead of diet, for example.”

* “Frame issues in highly creative ways. Insist that the problem is very complex, thus implying it can’t have a simple solution, if any.”

]]>https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/21/industry-playbook-manufactured-doubt/feed/01901Revealed: Illinois Doctors Accepted $74.1 Million from Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Companies in 2016https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/19/revealed-illinois-doctors-accepted-74-1-million-pharmaceutical-medical-device-companies-2016/
https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/19/revealed-illinois-doctors-accepted-74-1-million-pharmaceutical-medical-device-companies-2016/#respondSun, 20 Aug 2017 06:20:55 +0000https://integritydietitians.org/?p=1899“More than 28,000 Illinois doctors accepted $74.1 million from pharmaceutical and medical device companies in 2016, excluding payments for research, according to a Tribune analysis of recently released federal data. Those payments were for travel, meals, consulting, speaking fees and royalties, among other things,” The Chicago Tribune reports. Highlights: * “In Illinois, the largest chunkRead More

]]>“More than 28,000 Illinois doctors accepted $74.1 million from pharmaceutical and medical device companies in 2016, excluding payments for research, according to a Tribune analysis of recently released federal data. Those payments were for travel, meals, consulting, speaking fees and royalties, among other things,” The Chicago Tribunereports.

Highlights:

* “In Illinois, the largest chunk of money received by doctors from industry — about 28 percent of payments excluding research, or $21.4 million — were for services such as serving as a speaker or faculty at a noncontinuing education event. Another 18 percent, $13.4 million, went toward consulting fees. Nearly 13 percent of the payments, about $9.5 million, were for food and drink, according to a federal analysis.”

* “A number of studies over the years have shown that certain financial relationships can drive doctors to favor particular products when choosing medications for patients.”

* “Drug reps do not see physicians unless they are affecting their prescribing, and pharmaceutical companies do not pay physicians unless they are affecting their prescribing,” said Adriane Fugh-Berman, director of PharmedOut at Georgetown University Medical Center, a research and education project examining industry’s effects on prescribing behavior.”

* “Many doctors also say the payments can help drive innovation and learning. Topping the list of Illinois doctors receiving general payments last year was Dr. Anthony Romeo, head of the section for shoulder and elbow surgery at Rush University Medical Center and a team physician for the White Sox. Romeo received $1.75 million in general payments. But the vast majority of that money was from royalties and licensing.”

DFPI ADDS: This is where nuance and context is important. This isn’t a black or white issue; it is important to parse out the many shades of gray. Without a doubt, there are certain contexts where industry funding and interference is highly problematic and needs to be addressed.

“Any doctor who’s seeing drug reps or being paid by any companies is going to have less accurate information about drugs in general than physicians who don’t,” Fugh-Berman said. “Drug reps are trained to deliver messages in a way that advantages their products.”

]]>https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/19/revealed-illinois-doctors-accepted-74-1-million-pharmaceutical-medical-device-companies-2016/feed/01899The Sugar Industry’s Desperation Knows No Boundshttps://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/17/sugar-industrys-desperation-knows-no-bounds/
https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/17/sugar-industrys-desperation-knows-no-bounds/#respondFri, 18 Aug 2017 06:18:58 +0000https://integritydietitians.org/?p=1897The sugar industry isn’t facing its best moment right now. In her Food Politics blog, Dr. Marion Nestle shares some of The Hagstrom Report’s notes from the recent International Sweetener Symposium. Highlights: * “We need to talk the bull by the horns in pointing out the role of sugar in human nutrition” and talking aboutRead More

]]>The sugar industry isn’t facing its best moment right now. In her Food Politics blog, Dr. Marion Nestle shares some of The Hagstrom Report’s notes from the recent International Sweetener Symposium.

Highlights:

* “We need to talk the bull by the horns in pointing out the role of sugar in human nutrition” and talking about the importance of exercise,” said José Orive, executive director of the London-based International Sugar Organization.

* “We need to get back to positivity, not negativity. The sugar industry has a really great message. It starts with 15 calories per teaspoon,” said Craig Ruffolo, an analyst with McKeany-Flavell in Oakland, CA.

* “A lot of the food companies “who should be our friends” are instead reformulating products and advertising they are using less sugar,” said Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Association.

]]>https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/17/sugar-industrys-desperation-knows-no-bounds/feed/01897A Good Model: Cochrane’s Commercial Sponsorship Policyhttps://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/15/good-model-cochranes-commercial-sponsorship-policy/
https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/15/good-model-cochranes-commercial-sponsorship-policy/#respondWed, 16 Aug 2017 06:16:47 +0000https://integritydietitians.org/?p=1895We’re always looking to share how reputable organizations navigate conflicted sponsorship. The latest example: Cochrane policy on commercial sponsorship of Cochrane Reviews and Cochrane Groups. Highlights: * “The intent of this policy is to ensure the independence of Cochrane Reviews by making sure there is no bias associated with commercial conflicts of interest in theRead More

* “The intent of this policy is to ensure the independence of Cochrane Reviews by making sure there is no bias associated with commercial conflicts of interest in the conduct of Cochrane Reviews.”

* “Cochrane Reviews cannot be funded or conducted by commercial sponsors or commercial sources with a real or potential vested interest in the findings of a specific review.”

* “Individuals who are currently employed or where employed any time in the last three years by a company that has a real or potential financial interest in the outcome of the review (including but not limited to drug companies or medical device manufacturers); or who hold or have applied for a patent related to the review are prohibited from being Cochrane Review authors.”

* “Authors who in the last three years have received financial support from commercial sponsors or sources who have a real or potential financial interest in the findings of the review, but who are not covered by the restriction above should declare these interests at the earliest possible stage in the editorial process. Such financial support may include remuneration from a consultancy, grants, fees, fellowships, support for sabbaticals, royalties, stocks from pharmaceutical companies, advisory board membership, or otherwise.”

* “Editors with conflicts of interest with a given product/drug/non-drug intervention should not undertake peer review or be a contact editor, or provide sign-off on a review that involves that product, drug, non-drug intervention, or a competing intervention.”

]]>https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/15/good-model-cochranes-commercial-sponsorship-policy/feed/01895Canada Looks to Crack Down on Junk Food Marketing to Childrenhttps://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/14/canada-looks-crack-junk-food-marketing-children/
https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/14/canada-looks-crack-junk-food-marketing-children/#respondTue, 15 Aug 2017 06:15:03 +0000https://integritydietitians.org/?p=1893More good news out of Canada. “The Canadian government has just closed its online public consultations on the plan to ban unhealthy food advertising aimed at children. A coalition of 12 non-governmental organizations will keep up the pressure for it to restrict the commercial marketing of food and beverages to those under 16 years old.”Read More

“The Canadian government has just closed its online public consultations on the plan to ban unhealthy food advertising aimed at children. A coalition of 12 non-governmental organizations will keep up the pressure for it to restrict the commercial marketing of food and beverages to those under 16 years old.”

Highlights:

* “Currently, 90 per cent of advertisements of food and beverages directed to children are for unhealthy products,” says Dr. Jan Hux, chief science officer at Diabetes Canada, a member of the coalition. Banning them, she says, has proven effects.”

* “Hux notes that the province of Quebec banned such advertising to children under 13 in 1980. A recent study suggests the consumption of fast food by children and youth there was 13 per cent lower than that of comparable children in the province of Ontario.”

]]>https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/14/canada-looks-crack-junk-food-marketing-children/feed/01893Big Food’s Latest Headache: Canada’s Proposed New Food Guidehttps://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/12/big-foods-latest-headache-canadas-proposed-new-food-guide/
https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/12/big-foods-latest-headache-canadas-proposed-new-food-guide/#respondSun, 13 Aug 2017 06:13:07 +0000https://integritydietitians.org/?p=1891Encouraging news out of Canada! “Health Canada has released details of a proposal to change Canada’s food guide and they are causing concern in some areas of the food industry.” Highlights: * “Among the first changes Health Canada proposed is a move away from red meats as a source of protein, opting instead for legumes.”Read More

]]>Encouraging news out of Canada! “Health Canada has released details of a proposal to change Canada’s food guide and they are causing concern in some areas of the food industry.”

Highlights:

* “Among the first changes Health Canada proposed is a move away from red meats as a source of protein, opting instead for legumes.”

* “We’re not talking about that it has to be no animal foods; we’re talking about a shift in the amount of animal foods you’ve got in there,” said Dr. Hasan Hutchinson, director general of Nutrition Policy and Promotion.”

The best news of all:

* “Unlike previous revisions of the food guide, industry doesn’t have an opportunity to meet one-on-one with Health Canada and instead must submit their comments on the guiding principles along with the rest of the general public by Monday, Hutchinson said. We have to ensure the development of the guidance is really free from any conflict of interest.”

]]>https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/12/big-foods-latest-headache-canadas-proposed-new-food-guide/feed/01891The Canadian Cancer Society’s Questionable Food Industry Tieshttps://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/08/canadian-cancer-societys-questionable-food-industry-ties/
https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/08/canadian-cancer-societys-questionable-food-industry-ties/#respondWed, 09 Aug 2017 06:10:12 +0000https://integritydietitians.org/?p=1889Today, friend to Dietitians For Professional Integrity Dr. Yoni Freedhoff published a blog post on the problematic ties between the Canadian Cancer Society, Chipotle, PepsiCo, and the Dole Food Company. Highlights: * “My belief is that this normalized culture of convenience is in part encouraged by the cause-washed use of candy and junk food forRead More

]]>Today, friend to Dietitians For Professional Integrity Dr. Yoni Freedhoff published a blog post on the problematic ties between the Canadian Cancer Society, Chipotle, PepsiCo, and the Dole Food Company.

Highlights:

* “My belief is that this normalized culture of convenience is in part encouraged by the cause-washed use of candy and junk food for fundraising – a practice which may have been inconsequential (and rare) 60 years ago, but superimposed on our health issues today, is just plain wrong (and constant). And it’s especially wrong when adopted by health organizations whose cause, like that of the the Canadian Cancer Society, is itself impacted by low quality diets.”

* “The Canadian Cancer Society’s partnership with Chipotle sees them encouraging a trip to the giant fast food burrito maker in the name of 50% of a single day’s sales, while their partnership with PepsiCo and Dole come from one of their flagship events – the Run For The Cure – where PepsiCo and Dole serve as the Run’s, “National Official Suppliers”. As such, at the finish line of the short 5km fundraising run (which of course isn’t of a distance long enough to worry about any fuel or hydration needs), PepsiCo and Dole will be there to market hand out the beverages that the Run For The Cure website notes provide participants, year after year, with “delicious refreshment”.

* “One of the other reasons why these partnerships are so unwise is the way they’re utilized by the junk food partner. For instance Dole’s gone ahead and leveraged their partnership for in store sales of their sugar water by using it to cause-wash their products directly.”

]]>https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/08/canadian-cancer-societys-questionable-food-industry-ties/feed/01889Scientists and Food Industry Funding: The American Society for Nutrition Debatehttps://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/03/scientists-food-industry-funding-american-society-nutrition-debate/
https://integritydietitians.org/2017/08/03/scientists-food-industry-funding-american-society-nutrition-debate/#respondFri, 04 Aug 2017 06:06:46 +0000https://integritydietitians.org/?p=1887New York University’s Dr. Marion Nestle is an advisor to the American Society of Nutrition’s Early Career Nutrition group and was asked to address this question for its spring/summer newsletter: “Should nutrition scientists take food industry-funding?” Dr. Nestle’s response is insightful and clear-headed. The full version is posted on her blog, Food Politics. Highlights: *Read More

]]>New York University’s Dr. Marion Nestle is an advisor to the American Society of Nutrition’s Early Career Nutrition group and was asked to address this question for its spring/summer newsletter: “Should nutrition scientists take food industry-funding?”

Dr. Nestle’s response is insightful and clear-headed. The full version is posted on her blog, Food Politics.

Highlights:

* “We risk being conflicted—influenced to be less critical or silent about nutrition issues related to the donor’s products. There is no getting around it: whatever the reality of the relationship, taking money from a for-profit food company makes us appear to be supporters of whatever products the company sells.”

* “When ASN meetings are sponsored by food companies, it makes these financial ties seem normal. ASN provides a platform for industry-sponsored sessions such as the one this year on the benefits of Stevia, but you can bet they don’t include speakers who might say anything critical. Sponsorship excludes that possibility.”

* “Most of what we know about the effects of sponsorship comes from a very large body of research on funding by the cigarette, chemical, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries. The results of this research are remarkably consistent: they demonstrate that industry funding influences the design, interpretation, and outcome of research.”

* “What most troubles me is the lack of questioning of industry penetration into our societies and research. I think we should be raising questions about ASN’s involvement with companies whose profits might be affected by our opinions or research results. Should ASN have competed to manage the industry-funded Smart Choices program that ended up putting a seal of approval on Froot Loops? Does it make sense for ASN to endorse public policy statements promoting the benefits of processed foods or opposing “added sugars” on food labels? Is it reasonable for ASN to argue on social media that it is inappropriate to question industry funding of research? Must ECN sessions at the annual meeting really be funded by companies such as PepsiCo (last year) or Abbott Laboratories? These actions send the message that ASN is an arm of the food industry and that we uncritically support what it makes, sells, or does.”

* “I am hoping that you will give thought to the potential conflict of interest and reputational loss that you risk with food industry ties. You must figure out for yourself whether you think the risks are worth taking.”

]]>The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ annual conference (Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo; FNCE for short) takes place October 21 – 24.

One of our long-standing recommendations has been to enact stringent guidelines to help define appropriate and relevant exhibitors at the conference’s expo hall.

For example, we think Nestlé clinical nutrition products (i.e.: tube feed formulas) have a place at the expo. Its SweeTarts candies (which were a main attraction at their FNCE booth last year due to the removal of artificial flavorings and colorings)? Not so much.

We also, for example, think the presence of The Sugar Association, McDonald’s, and The National Confectioners Association (AKA: the candy lobby) is problematic from an optics — and ethics — standpoint.

On a positive note, it has come to our attention that FNCE attendees are now — for the first time, that we know of — polled as to what types of products they want to see on the expo floor (see screenshot here).

While we still would like to see Academy leadership draft official exhibitor guidelines, we consider this progress. We believe FNCE’s expo hall has the potential to be the epitome of forward-thinking, health-focused, nutrition-aligned information.

We can’t imagine these poll results would have an effect on this year’s expo (booths have, by and large, already been reserved and confirmed), but hopefully it can lead to improvements in future years.